Community Yearbook 17012019

DECEMBER

Newbury Weekly News

Thursday, 17 January, 2019

Matt’s so close to Masterchef glory

Arts Base takes shape THE new £1.7m visual arts centre at Greenham Park – The Base – is rapidly taking shape. The roof ’s now on, and although still a shell inside, it is easy to visualise the exciting developments planned for this new ‘hub’. The land and building are owned by Green- ham Trust and the Corn Exchange is setting up a new trust to manage the venue. On the ground floor, a spacious café will be run by the Honesty group. Behind that is the gallery space, launching in February with the outstanding international Wildlife Photogra- pher of the Year show on tour from the Natu- ral History Museum. It will be the first of five planned exhibitions a year. The aim is to bring in works of the highest standard. On the first floor, nine working studios will be occu- pied by resident artists and makers, whose brief includes engaging with visitors to the centre. The Corn Exchange has invited appli- cations from artists and makers who create exceptional, high-quality work. Finally, beyond the studios, is an adaptable meeting/teaching room overlooking the park.The Base is right by the (now) main Albury Way entrance to the park. Luke’s a world beater NEWBURY’S

after his dish of braised turbot with cockles, clams and mussels fell agonisingly short in the judges’ esti- mations. Speaking about his MasterChef journey, Mr Ryle, who was previ-

FORMER Theale Green School pupil Matt Ryle reached the final of MasterChef: The Professionals 2018.

Library has friends THE Friends of Wash Common Library cut a ribbon to mark the reopening of the facility after months of campaigning. The community group, which formed after the library’s closure due to local government cuts, applied to take over the running of the facility through West Berkshire Council’s devolution programme and has been helped by Newbury Town Council. Julia Calvert, who chairs the Friends, said: “It’s been a long time, but we had such good community support in order to re-open the library.”

The youngest chef in the competition, Mr Ryle turned the heads of some of the finest cooks in the country with his dishes throughout his three- week stint on the popu- lar show.

Lanterns light up the night sky MARKET Place was transformed into a euphoric spectacle of light and sound as The Festival of Light illuminated Newbury under a rainy night sky. The annual event, run by the Corn Exchange, drew in more than 2,500 people, who defied the wintry down- pour to celebrate the popular parade. Visitors lined Northbrook Street for the procession, which included a dragon lantern, emblazoned with the words ‘Save Your Corn Exchange’. Giant lanterns, designed by Martin West, head of creative design at the Corn Exchange’s 101 Outdoor Arts Creation Space, greeted attendees for the finale. Station makeover NEWBURY train station will be getting an £18mmakeover. Improvements will include refur- bished waiting rooms and toilets, a 10- minute short-stay waiting zone, new parking areas and facilities for cyclists and disabled passengers. Other improvements include a cycle hub, new and increased secure cycle parking with CCTV, retail space and vending machines on the station. The creation of a 20mph zone along Station Road and the introduction of improved drainage to prevent flooding are also planned.

ously a head chef at the Isabel Mayfair restau- rant in London, said:“ I was gutted. I was devas- tated to go out at that stage. “I said that it would be the worst stage of the competition to go out go

After a series of intense culinary battles, he made it to the final four. However, his journey came to an end Wildlife threat CONSERVATIONISTS were horrified by an illegal dredging operation that decimated wildlife in the River Lambourn. A mechanical digger was used to scoop out the gravel bed of the water- way in East Garston. That section of the waterway is winterbourne, which means it is dry in summer and floods in winter. The gravel bed provides a ‘just add water’ instant habitat when the springs come. Action for the River Kennet (ARK) spokeswoman Charlotte Hitch- mough said: “We just can’t under- stand why anyone would do such a thing. “The gravel beds have lots of plants, so invertebrates sink into it and emerge when the springs come, instantly providing a living habitat. “Worse, all the silt will now wash downstream and clog up the gravel beds elsewhere, where fish eggs would have been.”

out and it definitely was. “I’ve looked up to those chefs for years. I’ d never thought I’d get that far.”

Luke Humphries caused the shock of the tourna- ment at the World Darts Championships. The 23-year-old reached the quar- ter-finals of the

showpiece event at Alexandra Palace where his incredi- ble journey came to an end against world number six Michael Smith. En route to the last eight of the prestigious event, Humphries eliminated world number two and last year’s winner Rob Cross. The former Trinity School pupil fell two sets behind during the last-16 clash before hitting back to win 4-2. He said:“To dig in and come back from 2-0 down against the world champion at the time was huge and something I could never dreamed of doing.”

Rocco just loves Alexa ROCCO, the amorous talking parrot, fell in love with Amazon ’s digital assistant, Alexa. Shefford, said: “ They chat away to each other all day. Often I come in and there’s music playing.”

Discover

But Ms Wischnewski realised that he had also persuaded Alexa to order him a bizarre array of goods. She said:“So far I’ve had to remove a light bulb, some berries, a kite, ice- cream, strawberries, a water melon, raisins and some broccoli.”

It began when Rocco worked out how to chat up the device, but it got out of hand when he learned how to order life’s little luxuries online. His owner, Marion Wischnewski, from the National Animal Welfare Trust’s rehoming centre in Great

at Donnington Grove

Open in December 2018 Beaus bar and Restaurant is perfect for any social occasion or celebration. Open daily serving breakfast, lunches, lite bites, afternoon teas, and dinner. Discover the historic house too for bespoke parties and events, we look forward to welcoming you.

01635 581000 | restaurant@donnington-grove.com | www.donnington-grove.com